Arsenal 2 - 0 West Ham

 It was a hard-fought, enthralling, and rather weird game.  Officiating was for once favorable to Arsenal.  But mainly, some excellent patches of play from the Gunners were the difference.  The Hammers had their moments, but they did not look as though they were ever going to score.  Ramsdale was that good.  The first goal came two minutes into the second half.  Martinelli made an outside in run from the left that Lacazette spotted, and he fed him a perfect leading pass.  Martinelli took a sublime first touch and when Fabianski (who had a very good game) took his defensive stance, fired it Thierry Henri style past the keeper and just inside the far post.  The game was still mostly Arsenal after that, and an arguable PK call sent Laca to the spot and Soucek off the field for a second yellow.  Fabianski made a great save on the penalty (it's the third in a row missed by the Gunners), but West Ham a man down threatened only rarely.  Still, it takes only one, and cheap giveaways almost resulted in a West Ham goal.  The game was sealed late on by Emile Smith Rowe, who spotted his chance as he dribbled inside roughly 22 yards out.  It was a fine strike to the goalie's left, under the outstretched leg of a defender, which froze Fabianski. The outcome was not in doubt after that.

This puts Arsenal briefly in fourth place, just above the Hammers.  Tottenham have three games in hand, and Man U has one, and winning them would put them both above us.  This was a game we had to win, to restore confidence as much as anything.  This squad took on a good team in front of the Arsenal fans and handled them pretty well.  The trick is to do this away.

Crystal Palace 3 Everton 1

 CP got back on a winning track in a game more exciting than the score indicated. Everton seemed down and out when the score was 2-0, but fought back to make it 2-1 and made the ending interesting. CP ended a long string of home losses to Everton. Another stellar performance from loan player Gallagher, whose 2^nd goal of the day sealed the win in stoppage time.

Arsenal 3 - 0 Southampton; Arsenal Women 0 - 4 Barcelona Femeni; Notts Romps over Southend

 After a hesitant start, the Gunners turned on the style and turned up the heat, and the Saints could not stay with them.  A lovely flowing move saw a slick cutback from a driving Saka finding Lacazette, whose emphatic finish made it 1-0.  The lead was doubled six minutes later when the red hot Martin Odegaard scored a rare headed goal.  It was all Arsenal in the second half, though they added only one goal from a lovely header off a corner by Gabriel, assisted by Odegaard.  They needed this one after losing three of their last four.

Arsenal Women were blown out at home by Barcelona in Champions' League.  It's a rough patch for them, having been skunked in the FA Cup final 3-0 by Chelsea last time out.

Notts County put the Shrimpers to the sword 4-1, to stay in the mix near the top of the National League.  Wootton scored twice.  Juve was held 1-1 at Venezia.

Aubameyang did not make the Arsenal roster due to unspecified disciplinary reasons.  This is a second offense for him, and combined with his poor form this year, it asks questions about his captaincy.  I'm not sure who would succeed him were he ousted.  Lacazette will not be offered a new contract, Xhaka may not be with us much longer either, Partey has not really led by example, and everyone else who starts is 23 or younger.  They may settle on Partey by default, and it may give him some much needed confidence.

Season Unravels at Goodison: Everton 2 - 1 Arsenal

 Once more, Arsenal scores first and then dares its opponents to score, and they do.  Richarlison had the ball in the net three times for the Toffees, but was marginally offside the first two times.  Arsenal had a 1-0 lead at the half thanks to a lovely finish from Odegaard from a very nice cross from Tierney.  The first half was played in terrible conditions and most of it was indeed dreadful as a spectacle.  The second half was far livelier.  On balance, it was a fair result, but one that leaves the Gunners floundering mid-table instead of challenging for a top four spot.  Everton has been hit by injuries and did not look great, to be honest (except for the goals, which were superb), but we gave the ball away far too many times.

Saka was clearly hurt and needed to come out.  I'd have put Pepe in.  But instead we got Nketieh for Martinelli and the former put a sitter off the post and knocked the rebound over the endline for a goal kick when it should have been 2-1 Arsenal.  Well, I should not have watched this one.  Arteta needs to get more out of these guys if they are to have any chance of Europe next year.  There's plenty of season to go. 

Manchester United 1 Crystal palace 0

 Manchester United continues to stick it to faltering Crystal Palace, a 3rd loss in a row for the Palace, but a great week for MU.    

Man U 3 - 2 Arsenal

 The scoreline was an accurate assessment of the game.  Man U was better on the night.  Some of this may have been tactical, but mostly they were a bit quicker or more skillful than we were.  They got the second balls most of the time.  We were always in danger trying to play out of the back, and we lost the ball more often (though United had problems with the press too).  The goals were all legit and well taken.  Both teams could have had more.  It was a fun game to watch, hard play but never dirty.

Aubameyang has to sit for some games.  He is not the player he was two years ago, not even close.  He gets chances but he seldom does well with them.  Martinelli had a good game in place of Saka, and is playing his way onto the lineup card. Nketieh was brought on too late to assess, but he should have been sent a few crosses.  Partey was a disappointment again, Elneny was just a passing wall, Odegaard had little influence.  Tavares got caught upfield again on the second goal.  White is sometimes a worry.  

The men have to put this behind them, learn what they can from it, and prepare for Everton on Monday.

Leeds United 1 Crystal palace 0

 Another loss of points from a goal in stoppage time.  This, the third such costly goal this season,  is getting old fast.